The fact that the African American population is the least healthy ethnic group in the USA is not due to chance[1]. African American health care disparities are the culmination of many factors which the GBC have cited as issues for our caucus. African Americans still endure unacceptable health disparities and lack the power over policy and actions that could make the changes to eliminate such disparities. Current mortality disparities are evident in cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and infant mortality[4]. These causes of death may be the most visible health problems for African Americans, but they do not tell the whole story. Mental illness is the second largest cause of morbidity in African Americans, and violence in the form of homicide is the greatest cause of preventable death. High levels of poverty, lack of education, and excess incarceration further compound the poor health status of African Americans.[2]We will seek to ameliorate these disparities through health education, promotion, and advocating for access to healthcare for all. Additionally, we need to streamline our health care system to provide the best health care to all patients, not just the richest.
As Democrats Abroad, many of us are participants in a universal healthcare system and enjoy the health benefits of having readily available, affordable health care. The GBC supports the continuation and improvement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We do not support the repeal of the ACA for a Republican "healthcare" plan. The GBC will work to make Medicare for all Americans a reality by influencing politicians to support universal, single-payer healthcare. We support H.R.676 - Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act introduced by Rep. John Conyers Jr. D-Michigan 13th district and any similar legislation in the Senate.[3]
[1] Fustos, Kata. “Racial Differences in Health Status and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States.” Racial Differences in Health Status and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States, Population Reference Bureau, Mar. 2011, www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2011/us-health-insurance-racial-differences.aspx.
[2] Noonan, Allan S., et al. “Improving the Health of African Americans in the USA: an Overdue Opportunity for Social Justice.” Public Health Reviews, BioMed Central, 3 Oct. 2016, https://publichealthreviews.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40985-016-0025-4.
[3]Conyers, John. “H.R.676 - Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act.” Congress.gov, US House of Representatives, 10 Feb. 2017, www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/676.
[4] The leading causes of death for infants are health issues such as congenital and chromosomal abnormalities, problems related to short gestation and low birthweight, maternal complications of pregnancy, and sudden infant death syndrome. However, infant mortality also includes infant homicide where the highest risk is for Black infants by the mother on the day of birth where the birth does not occur in a hospital and the mother is an unmarried teenage mother without access to health care and a history of mental illness.
https://www.childtrends.org/indicators/infant-homicide/
https://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=infant-child-and-teen-mortality